For now he
has more than sufficiently carried out the injunction of his
father. And the King says he has no desire that the tournament
shall last too long, and that they can afford to stop at once.
So the knights drew off, according to the wish and order of the
King. Now that he is to follow in the royal suite, Cliges sends
for all his armour. As soon as he can, he comes to court; but
first, he completely changed his gear, and came dressed in the
style of the French. As soon as he arrived at court, all ran to
meet him without delay, making such joy and festival that never
was there greater seen, and all those call him lord whom he had
captured in the joust; but he would hear none of this, and said
they might all go free, if they were quite sure and satisfied
that it was he who had captured them. And there was not one who
did not cry: "You were the man; we are sure of that! We value
highly your acquaintance, and we ought to love and esteem you and
call you our lord, for none of us can equal you. Just as the sun
outshines the little stars, so that their light cannot be seen in
the sky when the sun's rays appear, so is our prowess
extinguished and abased in the presence of yours, though ours too
was once famous in the world." Cliges knows not what to reply,
for in his opinion they all praise him more than he deserves; it
pleases him, but he feels ashamed, and the blood rises in his
face, revealing to all his modesty.
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